A Darker Path
by Ginny-Rose95
Summary: Dark magic, bitter betrayal, violent war, and a secret so forbidden, it forces a family to tear itself apart. AU, talk of MPREG, sequel to Darkened Path, sort of crossover with MI and ID.
1. Chapter 1

Hello all, first of I'd like to thank everyone who contributed a title for this sequel, I ended up choosing "A Darker Path", which A Really Gay Spider came up with, but still thank you for everyone for giving great ideas! Also, for anyone who opened this without reading "Darkened Path" I suggest looking at that one first, otherwise, you will be very lost, very fast. Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy this.

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"Get it! Get the toy! Come on, you can do it!" Alec smiled slightly as he slipped his stele into the pocket of his jacket. It had been a grueling three months since he had returned to New York City. The elders in the Clave had been suspicious of his sudden return after so many months of absence and he had been forced to undergo several long interrogations until the Clave was forced to admit they had no evidence that Alec had become a part of the slow growing support for Sebastian and his work.

That had been nearly two months ago, and he had been cleared for active duty for quite a time now, but his mother was skeptical of his and Magnus' claims of depression and had kept him under close surveillance for several weeks and had refused to allow him back into the Clave meetings, citing possible health issues as the reason for his disbarment. Alec had thought she might do something of the sorts, seeing as she had been there when Jace had felt the first phantom pains, but was pleased to know that, after three months had passed since his child bearing, he was perfectly healthy. Not even his mother or Magnus could find fault in his well-being, despite all their attempts.

And now, finally, he was allowed back into the swing of things. He had loved having the time to spend with the twins and Magnus – he was seeing quite a bit of them, since he had moved into Magnus's apartment after his mother had dropped back enough to permit him to, but he missed the fast paced action that being a Shadow Hunter gave him. It would be immensely gratifying to be able to partake in a meeting first hand again, rather than getting the bylines by Jace and Izzy, who would in turn get them from Maryse.

Still, he was having equal problems leaving the twins for any long stretch, even if was only to be an hour or so. He hadn't been apart from them for long stretches since their birth and even knowing that Magnus was perfectly capable of handling their children was not helping edge off the sudden anxiety.

"Come on, Ginny! You got it sweetness!" Magnus' energetic voice cut through Alec's worried thoughts, and he was smiling once more when he finally entered the living room, and was greeted to a most strange and wondrous site.

Magnus was sitting on the floor beside a brightly colored quilt on which lay one of the twins – Ginny, Alec assumed from the little yellow dress the infant wore – and he was floating various brightly colored plush toys for her to bat at with her small hands. She wasn't quite old enough to grab the toys with her meaty fingers, but she batted them with an enthusiasm Alec didn't quite understand. But she was smiling widely and laughing as Magnus continued to float them closer towards her.

"What exactly are you doing?" Alec asked, finding himself drawn to Ginny's laughter. Magnus turned to him briefly, smiling mischievously as the toys continued to float behind him.

"I'm playing with our daughter of course, she loves trying to get at the toys. She still hasn't grasped the concept of pulling them, but she loves hitting them. Don't give me that look. I've seen you do the same thing," Magnus raised an eyebrow as if daring Alec to correct him.

"Of course I do. It's good for their development and stuff. But I don't float toys around her head. I hold them like normal parents do." Alec replied automatically, watching as Ginny continued to bat the toys, unaware or uncaring that they were no longer moving around slowly as they had been before Alec had said anything.

"Well, normal parents aren't nearly eight hundred year old, supposedly sterile warlocks or eighteen year old shadow hunters, are they? Besides, it's more fun this way." Magnus demonstrated his opinion by renewing the movements of the small toys, making Ginny shriek in glee again.

"Okay," Alec conceded, "next question, then. Where's Max?" The twins rarely allowed themselves to be separated for long periods of time, to the point that Alec and Magnus had given up on the two cribs and allowed them to sleep together. It was strange to see Ginny without her slightly older brother.

"He's over there." Magnus pointed towards the large windows and Alec saw the large wooden cradle situated underneath them. It was such a stark change to the living room that Alec was surprised he hadn't noticed it at first.

"Why has the crib been moved from the nursery?"

"Because Ginny was awake and Max was still asleep and it's good to move the cradle so that the babies can be exposed to new sights. Although, I think the little demon will be out for a while. He was up half the night screaming after all." Alec frowned as he turned to take a closer look at his lover. Magnus had insisted on taking the night watch over the twins last night, despite Alec's protests, going so far to even put silencing spells around the nursery that only he was tuned into.

The effects of the night were evident in Magnus's face, if one knew how to look for them. His eyes were clouded slightly, nearly green rather than the golden-green Alec had grown accustomed to, and guilt hit him. He knew Magnus had been trying to make up for the months that Alec was alone but all of that was made up the moment Magnus came to find him, and all this pushing for Alec to relax and allow Magnus to do all the hard work was getting ridiculous.

"I'll take the twins when I get home," Alec promised, bending down to place a small kiss on the corner of Magnus's lips. He shushed him quietly when he opened his mouth to protest, "You're exhausted, as soon as I get home, you're going to bed. No exceptions." He added as Magnus tried again to argue. Alec kissed him gently for a moment, his arms wrapping around Magnus' upturned neck as he pressed himself against his lover.

"You kiss me like that more often, doll, and I'll do whatever you say."Alec blushed deeply and swatted Magnus's shoulder, annoyed.

"Stop calling me that," he demanded, grinned and wrapped his arms around Alec's slim waist, pulling him down onto his lap.

"I have to go," Alec murmured against Magnus's lips, all irritation seemingly disappearing as Magnus ran his hands under Alec's black shirt and pushed against the small of Alec's back.

"Magnus," he protested slightly, squirming in Magnus's tight embrace. Magnus kissed him solidly in response, cutting off all of Alec's protests effectively. The kiss was cut short by a loud fussing emerging from the cradle. Alec pulled hastily away from Magnus, blushing furiously as he heard Magnus swear under his breath.

"I swear that boy has an innate radar for when we kiss," he added as Alec went to comfort the fussy baby. Max always seemed to cry at the exact moment that Alec and Magnus embraced and while Alec was mostly embarrassed by the idea that his child knew what his parents were doing, Magnus was distinctly annoyed.

Ginny, for her part, was laying down where Magnus had put her, reaching out for one of the toys that had fallen beside her. "You know," Magnus called out conversationally as he watched her small fingers pull and prod at the stuffed bear she was playing with, "I think she's almost got the idea of using her hands to grab the toys."

"Good for her," Alec called back, "I'm glad one of the twins is using their fingers _productively_." He added as he scowled down at the small baby inside of the cradle. Much to Alec's consternation, Max, the fussier of the two babies, had found a way to calm himself while his fathers were occupied.

"He's still doing it, then?" Magnus asked, the amusement clear in his tone, "I don't know what the big deal is. He likes it, it soothes him, and sometimes doing it gets him back to sleep at night, which we both know is a blessing." Alec made a face at Magnus.

"Because in two years' time it's going to be hell getting him to stop." He replied, reaching down and picking the small baby up. Max smiled sleepily up at his father, his lips forming around the small thumb he was sucking on gleefully.

"It's not going to be any harder to get Ginny off her pacifier." Magnus reasoned practically, offering a bottle towards Alec.

"You can take a pacifier away. You can't really get rid of a thumb," Alec replied, accepting the warmed milk and gently coaching the small baby to take it. After a moment of contemplation, Max pulled his thumb out of his mouth and eagerly accepted the bottle.

"He doesn't like his pacifier, you know that," Magnus continued, picking up a now fussy Ginny and giving her a bottle of her own, holding it to her mouth as she slowly drank the warmed milk. "Aren't you going to be late?" he added as he jostled the small child into a more comfortable position. Alec glanced at the clock and then looked again, his face setting into an expression of horror.

"I was supposed to leave twenty minutes ago! It's going to be over before I get there! Shit!" Alec handed the bottle and Max towards an amused Magnus, who had to jostle the baby already in his arms to hold the new acquisition.

"I love you," Alec told him, brushing his lips against his cheek, "and you," he kissed Ginny, "and you too, even if you directly disobeyed me," he added towards Max before kissing him. "Be back soon!" he called out, leaving behind an amused Warlock and two content babies.

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So, a little bit of shameless fluff before the action begins. This story, at least according to A Really Gay Spider, who deserves credit for a lot of the ideas that will make up this story, is darker than the first, so there probably won't be a lot of this, but I hope you enjoyed this nonetheless. I will try to update again as soon as possible. And again, thank you for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Alec arrived in front of the Institute slightly out of breath. His cheeks were flushed in the spring air, a mixture of heated skin and feverish excitement. It had been so long – too long really - since he had truly felt that he was a Shadowhunter and now he was back into it, full forth. The idea was exhilarating. With hardly any hesitation, he placed his pale hand onto the doorknob, reveling in the cool air that swirled around him as it escaped the Institute.

The first thing that greeted Alec was a soft murmuring, echoing in the long entrance way of the Institute. The halls were darkened, that was the second thing he noticed, as he followed the murmuring noise. Odd, that even Isabelle's and Jace's rooms were dark – their doors firmly shut and no light escaping from the thin crack between them and the floor. As was the weapons room and the library. Jace and Isabelle must have been allowed into the meeting, although Alec could hardly fathom why. Underage Shadowhunters were only allowed into official Clave meetings in dire circumstances, or circumstances that required a large and immediate task force. As far as he knew, this meeting would discuss neither.p

The murmuring grew louder as he grew closer to the meeting room. It resembled a muted roar, a chorus of dissenting voices each babbling on top of each. And it was _heated_, Alec realized belatedly, his steps quickening across the hallway. It had been such a long time since he had heard such a large fight that it shocked Alec. The idea of a fight – loud enough that he could hear it beyond the walls of the meeting room – was disconcerting. Whatever had happened must have been ground breaking.

He paused as he caught sight of two figures standing just outside the door, murmuring heatedly to each other, their voices merging in with the louder rumble just inside the door. It did not take much for Alec to recognize the long raven hair of his sister or the flashing gold of his brother's mane. He continued walking, ears straining to hear the quiet conversation over the loud babble of the crowd beyond. He was less worried now – Jace and Isabelle had evidently not been allowed into the meeting, which was a good sign – and his stride had slowed some.

Their murmuring abruptly stopped as Jace caught sight of him and Alec was surprised to see his tight, angry expression fade into a horrified, pale one. Isabelle, a moment behind, mimicked the older boy's action.

"What are you doing here, Alec?" she hissed, hurrying to her brother. She walked with an air of one desperate to get rid of someone and Alec could not fathom why. "You need to leave, like, now, go home and play with the twins or something. You can't be here, not right now!" She pulled slightly at his arm, applying just the right amount of pressure to make him turn away from the door. Impatiently and undoubtedly irritated, Alec pulled his arm away from hers.

"What are you talking about? What's going on?" He asked, glaring slightly at the two of them. He hated secrets in any form now, and the idea that his siblings were keeping him from whatever was happening beyond that corridor was irritating.

"You don't want to know, Alec. Trust me on this, just go home to Magnus. Before they come out, please Alec. You don't want to be here now." Jace's voice was pleading and that alone caused Alec to bite back his retort. But his warning was too late, as the murmuring suddenly came to a crescendo and the door behind the trio slammed open. Alec looked beyond his siblings and his heart stopped as he caught sight of the cause of the commotion.

His father, still as tall, still as proud and haughty as ever, stood in the doorway, his dark blue eyes catching sight of his three children. A wave of emotions hit Alec – happiness at seeing his father after so long, anger for the man who had left his mother, confusion as to what was happening. Robert Lightwood, the last his son had heard of it, had become the official Inquisitor for the Clave, a permanent appointment stationed at Idris. Whatever had brought him here, after the months of absence, must have been very important.

"Alexander," his father intoned, bending his neck minutely in acknowledgement to his oldest son. "Late, but perhaps not terribly so. You have come in time for the real action. Your mother tells me you have been ill, are you well enough to rejoin the field?" There was no sentimentality in his father's words, but Alec hadn't expected them. The few times he had spoken to his father since Max's death had been strained, filled more with questions of his sexuality than any real bonding between the two men. Still his tone of formality caught Alec by surprise. Perhaps the job required pompousness.

"Of course. But what is going on?" he addressed his father politely but watched as other Shadowhunters began to file out of the room, each as tense and pale faced as the last. Some looked angry, others determined. None gave Alec any hint as to what was going on.

"Your siblings didn't tell you?" Robert cast a small frown at the two younger Shadowhunters, both glaring back aggressively. "I was under impression that you stepped outside the meeting room to be able to inform your brother of what was going on?"

"No," Isabelle glared at her father with a passion that shocked Alec. He knew she and their father had never been terribly close, but there was hatred carved into the cold fury that was her expression. "We came out here because what you were saying _sickened_ us." There was no more people leaving the room now, the three children and their father were left to themselves in the hallway, the only sign of other beings was the echo of their footsteps and the murmur of their voices, fading in the distance.

Robert stared at his daughter with a fraction of emotion Alec could not quite make out. Was it regret? It didn't matter, within half a second it was gone, replaced with the cold steel of an emotionless mask. "I am doing what is necessary of the Clave. It is unpleasant, certainly, but it must be done. For the good of everyone around us, Isabelle. I thought out of all of us, you would be the one to most understand. This is _protection_."

"This is _murder_!" Isabelle hissed, her chest heaving in her anger. Alec stared at the two figures, silent and glaring, before turning to Jace, hoping his younger brother held the answers. He had no idea what the two were talking about, but a dark feeling was erupting in his abdomen. Apprehension and fear, he knew. What did this… this murder have to do with him?

Jace was surprisingly pale, watching the two dark haired beings with something akin to worry, and when he caught sight of Alec looking at him, he shook his head minutely. He would not be giving Alec his answers, then.

"If you feel so strongly against this, you may leave. You are underage still; I will not require you to fight amongst us." Isabelle didn't even hesitate, her back was turned before Robert had even finished speaking, "Just realize," he called to her retreating form, "that for every one of our people hurt or killed tonight, you bear partial blame. Every person brave enough to fight, will suffer at your cowardice." Isabelle stopped, her back rigid as her father's words sank in. Alec was horrified. How could their father say such a terrible thing?

"Call me a coward," Isabelle replied, her voice eerily calm as she spoke, "I don't care. Just realize this," she turned then, her dark eyes boring into her father's, "that if you go through with this, you are no better than _he_ is. Two murderers, lining the innocents like ducks in a shooting gallery." She turned at that, and all three of the men she left watched her go.

"Never mind that," Robert stated, his voice and face calm, as if his only daughter had not just walked away. He turned to Jace, who stiffened immediately. "Will you be fighting with us, then?" Alec could see the hesitation, the confusion, behind Jace's calm façade. He knew two fundamental pieces were fighting inside Jace. His morality – he obviously believed their father's actions to be wrong just as much as Isabelle – and his sense of duty – his honor bound oath to protect and fight for the Clave. Finally, he gave a stiff nod. He would go, and fight, like the soldier, Alec thought, he was bred to be.

"Thank you." Robert said, "'The Law is hard, but it is the law.'" Alec's father either didn't notice or ignored the slight tremble that ran through his eldest son, at his words. "We are doing what needs to be done." Jace nodded again, his body stiff. He tried to make eye contact with his brother, but Alec was fastidiously studying the floor boards beneath him. A deep sense of betrayal, one Alec did not want or understand, had risen up inside him and Alec could not meet his brother's eyes in fear that Jace would see it. How could he feel betrayed, when this action had nothing to do with him?

He watched his brother leave without saying a word, the only sound the echoes of Jace's steps. "You are wondering then, what this is about." Alec could hear the sigh in his father's voice as the silence broke around them. He nodded, the angry betrayed feeling he didn't understand fading away to more apprehension. Whatever this was about, both Isabelle and Jace hadn't wanted him to be a part of it. "I would have thought your sister would understand, after what happened to Max. But she had always been rather soft of disposition. Perhaps she can't stomach the hard choices Nephilim must make sometimes." Alec fought a strange urge to snort. Isabelle was a lot of things but soft had never been one of them.

"What does Max have to do with this?" Alec asked finally. Was this about Sebastian then? But if it was, why was Isabelle so upset about it? Anything that could bring him down had to be done. She understood that as well as anyone.

"It doesn't in any straight way, but a roundabout one. This attack tonight will, I and the council believe, strike at Sebastian's forces heavily. After what happened to Max, I had thought your sister would be willing to do whatever it took to hurt their forces." Alec felt the apprehension grow more fierce. She would do anything, he knew, except this, evidently.

"And this attack? What is it?" Alec asked finally, forcing the words out through his suddenly dry throat. His father watched him with an unreadable expression for a few moments before answering.

"A few months ago, before you returned, Maryse contacted Idris with information about a heavy concentration of demons in an abandoned ranch home north of the city. Normally of course, this would warrant an immediate attack to eradicate the demons or at least force them away from the mundane. However, the demons were not killing or attacking the mundies around them in any way, and we gave Maryse the authority to conduct a quiet investigation rather than terminating the group. A few weeks afterwards, she had the answer. The demons were guarding something," the disgust was evident in his tone, "that something turned out to be a small child, probably around the age of five."

Alec tried hard to keep his face neutral as a spasm of horror shot through him. His father was planning to attack a home that had a _child_ in it. No, his mind corrected with another shot of horror, his father was planning an attack _on_ the child. "No," he said, the word forcing out of his throat through a wave of bile, "Dad, you can't! You can't kill a child!"

"We have no choice. We have reason to believe that the child is like Sebastian, and if so, we have to strike before it can grow into another deadly weapon for their side."

"_Weapon_? It's just a child! You don't know what he or she will do! They might not hurt anyone!"

Robert pierced his son with a sharp look, "This _child_," he said with disgust, "is a monster. There is nothing we can do to change that. It will have no emotions like we understand them. No remorse. No compassion. Just a deadly, callous murderer like Sebastian. There is nothing else it can be." Alec shook his head, horrified and disgusted. Was this what awaited his twins? A few years and then callous murder?

"I'm not telling you to kill the child, Alec. I can see that you have hesitations about it. We need skilled fighters to hold back the demons as others go in to eradicate the threat." The threat. Such a cruel terminology. One life, burned out because of parentage. Isabelle was right, their father had become no worse than the monster they were fighting.

"If I refuse?" He asked finally, not meeting his father's gaze.

"Then I'm forced, by the will of our Covenant, to punish you for insubordination. You must fight Alec, or the Law will come down on you." Alec hesitated only a moment.

"What's the punishment?" he asked, finally raising his head to meet his father's gaze. He would rather be punished, he thought savagely, than take part in this. This time there was no mistaking the emotion in his father's gaze. Regret.

"For something like this, Alexander, for willingly disobeying a direct order given from the Inquisitor in times of war, there are only two outcomes. Imprisonment in the cells in Idris, for a determined amount of time, or…" he paused momentarily before continuing, "or immediate disbarment from the Clave."

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So, I did say it was going to pick up right? Right? Well, I hope you liked the chapter. Again, I have to thank A Really Gay Spider for their fantastic ideas and betaeing skills. Thank you for reading, and I'll try to update again soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Magnus sighed softly as he placed Ginny's small body beside her brother's and watched for a few moments as they slept peacefully. He wished he could feel the same sense of naïve comfort, but a dark feeling had been rising inside him since Alec had left and it had only grown fiercer as time had passed in the apartment without any word from his lover.

A soft chiming, designed to be quiet enough for the infants to sleep through, interrupted Magnus' undoubtedly dark thoughts, and he stood up and walked to a seemingly solid wall. It had been an ingenious creation, he was not afraid to admit, and it had taken no small amount of work to pull it off. The easy part had been getting an empty apartment next to his own – the extremely passionate couple that had been his neighbors for a year had finally moved out to terrify another building. The next step – forging paperwork for a young English couple named Theresa and James Carstairs, and procuring furniture for the rooms – had been slightly more difficult.

The first difficult part had been in creating the connection between the apartments, which was what Magnus was currently standing in front of, a doorway hidden within the wall, barely noticeable but for a small seem along the edges. It had been simple in the magic, a simple outline of a door followed by several well placed opening runes by Alec and Jem, but the length of time it took to cut through the framework and then to make it so it was undetectable had been arduous.

But the result had been worth it, Magnus thought as he ran a deft finger across the thin crack. An escape route, undetectable by those without the knowledge, only a moment's notice away. He wished deeply that it wasn't needed but he knew clearly, probably more than even Alec did, that they were on borrowed time. One soft cry at the wrong moment, a single toy left in sight of the wrong person, and it was over. And he knew how easily it was to slip up.

But now was not the time to dwell on these dark thoughts. Someone wanted through the doorway and he was the only one able to allow them through. So, he slid his finger across the crack completely before placing his palm fully on the center, the hidden rune glowing briefly before the section of wall disappeared completely and he caught a look of the other side. Tessa was standing there, her mousy hair pulled back loosely and an excited smile adorning her face. She clutched several papers in her pale hand and her body was tensed with unexpressed energy.

"Jem's not home." She started without preamble, barely waiting for Magnus to move aside before she was striding into his apartment, the hidden passageway sliding back into a solid wall behind her. "And I got something." She continued, turning and waving the papers excitedly in Magnus' face. Instantly, Magnus felt his mood lighten as all the worry for Alec was replaced by sheer excitement.

He had yet to tell Alec what he and Tessa were doing and part of Magnus felt guilt for not informing Alec of what was happening, but a larger part of him knew what would happen if he did. Alec would feel hopeful at first, even as weeks, maybe months passed, with no new information, but as the months turned to years Alec would grow despondent, depressed, and the Angel only knew what that would do to their relationship. It was best to keep quiet, to Alec and to Jem, as Tessa had decided, until they had enough to go on to actually do something.

It had been three months of dead ends before this. Magnus had known it would take time but as the twins had grown, so had his impatience. Magnus's hands shook slightly as he took the letter from Tessa. This could be the information that could give Magnus all he wanted. Or, it could be another dead end to add the growing pile of them. There was really only one way to find out.

He looked at the letter, pausing for a moment to try and identify the indiscernible letters before smiling ruefully. "I do not speak Welsh, Tessa. You will have to read what it says to me," he passed the letter back to Tessa, tactfully ignoring her reddened cheeks. He knew that Tessa had to learn to speak the language when her children were still very young but he himself had no need to learn anything beyond the basics.

"I'm sorry," she said ruefully, adjusting the papers in her hands fitfully. Magnus could see her impatience overcrowding her embarrassment from the slip and waved off her apology.

"No harm Tessa. Just give me the basics so that I can share in whatever is making you so obviously flustered. I haven't seen you this excited since your first child," Tessa beamed at him in response. Obviously not even the mention of her long-dead child could bring down the mood she was in.

"I tried a few of my contacts. I don't have as many as you do, but I have acquired some throughout the years. For the most part, they came back with the same information yours did. Either they gave me legends and myths, or they called me insane and said if I wanted to kill myself there were simpler methods." Magnus bit back the snort that threatened to escape as he thought of what the contact on the other end must have been thinking, to reply back so crudely.

"But then I thought we might have been going about it the wrong way. Warlocks are secretive, they aren't going to be straight up about such difficult and, to what many think, perverse magic. So I contacted Molly, and asked her if she had knowledge about any oddities like you and Alec, besides the first case."

Magnus arched an eyebrow. "But we are the only ones. Molly said so herself."

Tessa shook her head, smiling slightly, "Molly hasn't lived centuries for being terribly open. She's as sneaky as the rest of us. You and Alec are one of two male pairings. She said nothing of females. And as it turns out," Tessa gestured towards the paper again. "She has met a Warlock woman, like me, who has given birth to a Shadowhunter child."

"A Warlock woman like you? But that's not possible you are the only warlock from a Nephilim parent. We'd know if there were others."

Tessa shook her head, a bit of disgust crossing her face. "In England, we thought I was. But I began to think that my mother's couldn't have been the Shadowhunter family to anger the fey. Or that there were other children deemed too weak or frail to take the traditional role in the Nephilim world. Either way, this woman from the Philippines is just like me. Except your age." Magnus smiled ruefully. He knew Tessa had always hated feeling alone, trapped between two worlds. Still, he had no idea how this women had anything to do with their current predicament.

"Do you remember how surprised everyone was when I was pregnant? We'd all thought it was impossible." Magnus nodded, wondering vaguely where Tessa was going. "Well, according to Molly, I shouldn't have been able to. At the time, we attributed it to the fact, that like my Nephilim mother, I was unmarked by the Devil. But that isn't true. Even without the devil's mark, I was still able to do things like other Warlocks whilst my mother lived without any Shadowhunter ability, apart from seeing unexplainable things around her. You can make any Nephillim into a Shadowhunter with proper training, but you can't make someone a Warlock." Tessa paused there and took a steadying breath before continuing.

"Any child should have perished inside of me as they would any other Warlock woman. But they didn't. Just like with Alec's body, magic took a hold of something that wasn't there and created it to enable live children. I had Molly do some tests for me. Right now, if I were to sleep with a man there would be no way for me to get pregnant. It's physically impossible. And yet, my body allowed the change when I had my children with Will. The same thing happened to this woman and a similar thing to Alec. It doesn't matter the gender, somehow the magic unconsciously makes the change in either the warlock, in mine and this woman's cases, or the lover in your case."

"She lived centuries without having the ability, and then suddenly got pregnant?" Magnus asked, undoubtedly curious. This had nothing to do with their quest for mortality, but he had always desired the answers to how Alec got pregnant. Perhaps information from this woman could help discover what happened.

"Yes. But that's not the reason – the whole one at least – I wanted to show you this. The warlock involved, she was mentioned before, in our first lead. Maria Santos." Magnus stared for a moment, hard. He remembered their first lead, a story a Chinese warlock had heard of a young woman with that name giving up her immortality a few years back. But there had been no record of such a Warlock, although plenty of Mundanes bore the name. It had been their first great disappointment.

"The records of Warlocks dating to your birth year are a lot shadier, because the Clave did not keep track then, if they discovered them, they would simply kill them and move on. And if she had been born to an unmarked Nephilim woman, she might not have even known of her abilities until many years later. I didn't."

"So this woman existed. And not only that, she's still alive?" Magnus asked, the excitement ebbing into his voice. They were suddenly close again.

"As of seventeen years ago, yes. That was when Molly helped her give birth to her own son. Molly can't confirm if the mortality story is true but she did vouch in the letter that she was determined to do anything for her child, just like you and Alec." Magnus felt his own smile creep onto his face, to match Tessa's own. He found, in light of the discovery, that he wasn't even angry at Molly for not divulging the information to him earlier. He had known that Molly kept her cards close.

"Don't suppose she gave a mailing address?" Tessa shook her head. It would never be that easy. "No matter, the name is a step. So is the knowledge of the child. Although how these miracle children keep being born is beyond me –" Magnus was cut off by a flash of fire. Tessa gave a little shriek and jumped back slightly but Magnus made no noise, hand outstretched to reach the small note he knew would have accompanied it. He still did not know what had possessed him to share with Alec the rune that would give him the ability to send messages in such a manor, but he did not deny their usefulness as he read the hastily scribbled note.

His fingers clenched the note, his heart pounded wildly. "You need to take the twins." He told Tessa, barely turning towards her. He could read the confusion on her face, "There was a raid. A Shadow hunter raid on a demon-infested farmhouse," he spoke quickly, running his fingers across the various infant paraphernalia, making things around him disappear with the simple touch of his fingertips, heart thundering as his ears trained for the noises he knew would arrive shortly, "something went wrong. A girl's been poisoned. They are bringing her here to see if I can do anything to save her." Images rose unbridled in his mind – black poison lacing through the pale face of a small girl, red glistening against the white of her mouth.

It was sickening and Magnus continued to banish any evidence of the twins with a panicked motion. He couldn't believe that a moment ago he had felt excitement when all he could feel now was fear. Fear for the life of the girl they were bringing to his door and for his own children. The Angel only knew what would happen if they were discovered.

Tessa needed no further information and within moments she had gathered the two infants, still sleeping, and had left the apartment for her own, leaving Magnus to his own work. He barely had time to vanish the large cradle before the buzzing of the intercom started and the pleads for his help began. With a thundering heart, Magnus moved to allow the very people he least wanted into his home.

In his haste, he didn't feel his foot collide into the small stuffed lion he had been twirling in front of Ginny just hours ago. Or notice as the small thing landed underneath the couch, barely noticeable in the expanse of the suddenly bare living room.

Sorry for the late update! Everything's been very busy, and its still pretty hectic. I will try to update again soon, thank you for reading, I hoped you liked it, and once again, a big thanks to my beta A Really Gay Spider for being awesome. I'll try to update again soon.


	4. Chapter 4

The evening wind tangled Alec's dark hair, whipping against his pale skin as he dashed across the empty field, right hand lingering steadily on the bow at his side. A flash of gold and a flicker of red just ahead of him, through the scarce grove that circled the derelict farmhouse, alerted him to where the rest of his group had continued on to, but he made no move to catch up to them. He had no desire to be any closer to the other two than was strictly necessary.

Anger thrummed through his veins as his foot caught the edge of the grove and he barely paused to check his surroundings before he continued on, keeping his pace distant from the front two. Flashes of moonlight – pale in the newly established evening, fell on the ground through the new leaves in an almost ludicrous show of fabricated beauty. There was nothing beautiful in this night – only the ugly blackness that had enclosed him since speaking to his father.

Disgust bit into his anger, at the thought of his father. It was him that made it so Alec would have to participate in this farce. He should have been home, he wanted to be home. He wanted to wrap his arms around his children and whisper to them. He wanted to, in turn, be enfolded in his lover's arms and be told sweet nothings all through the night. He did not want to be here, forced into action, aiding the murder of a child.

Flashes of blue eyes, vibrant against the pitch black of their slitted pupils, fought their way to his subconscious and he increased his pace, moving silently through the night as his emotions ran rampant across his mind. He pushed the images away viciously; there was no point in these thoughts. No matter what he thought, he would have to fight as if he believed in this war, just like any soldier should.

Alec reached the edge of grove, pointedly ignoring his brother's stare. He did not want to speak to Jace or to the small red-headed figure at his side. The memory of Jace nodding so absolutely before leaving Alec to his father flashed through his mind on repeat and he found he could not look at his brother without the feeling of immense, irrational betrayal that now accompanied it. He could not look at Clary without thinking of Isabelle, who had ostentatiously remained at the Institute. Had this been a normal evening, Isabelle would have been their third and Clary would have tagged along with another group, probably with more experience than them to combat her own inexperience.

"Robert wants us there," Clary's voice rose, quiet but carrying in the silent night, and Alec spared a glance to see she was pointing to the leftmost window on the second floor. "We need to get there once the signal goes. We'll have to move fast because he's afraid the witchlight will alert whatever demons are in the house, so we should probab-"

"We know Clary, so just shut up so we can concentrate on how we are going to get up there!" Alec snapped softly, relishing in the stung silence that followed. It was petty he knew, but Alec had not felt such satisfaction from putting the young redhead down since he had foolishly thought he was in love with his Parabatai. He ignored Clary's puzzled, slightly offended expression in favor for scouting the upper windows and the ground beneath. It looked quiet enough, as empty and deserted as it was reported to be. But Alec knew without the help of his Sensor that demons were present. There was an acrid feel to everything around him, as it all of the Earth's pollution was concentrated on this small space. The air smelt burnt, heavy and hot, and the wind had turned harsh, whipping his short hair abound more forcefully.

"Drop down," he said, kneeling onto one knee immediately. Jace and Clary both followed suit without hesitation. Alec was the elder and although Jace was most likely to be thinking of some asinine comment, he knew enough to keep quiet. "You feel it Jace?" he murmured, peering at the dark house through the thick bramble of bushes that marked the end of the grove. His emotions had dulled as the battle honed instincts instilled into him took over.

"Black magic," Jace confirmed just as quietly, an inch from Alec's ear.

"A summoning," Alec replied. He recognized the stench although he had smelt only once before, during the search for Jace.

"Summoning?" Clary questioned softly and Alec bit his anger back. He was still incredibly furious at it all. Now was not the time for intrusive emotions, he reflected, as Jace responded.

"Most of the time Downworlders take care to hide their illegal actions from the general populous. Drug trafficking, illegal potion markets, demon summoning – these are all things generally frowned upon. Some one here summoned a demon, most likely an upper tiered one, and did not bother to cover up the stench. That can only mean one thing –"

"They know we are here. It's a trap." Alec finished quietly, dread filling his body. He hadn't wanted to be here, hated his father for making him fight this battle, despised every person who had agreed to this farce of justice, but he still felt dread for them. They were his people and right now, they were all in major danger. He stood, taking care that his body was still shrouded in the shadows of the trees, "We have to warn Father, before he gives the sig-" A pinprick of light, no bigger than a finger from the distance, flashed momentarily before once again being swallowed by the darkness.

But it was enough. Alec watched with horror as several dark figures made their way swiftly through the open lawn beyond the copse. "How do they not realize it's a trap?" he called quietly, watching his brethren crouch their way across the lawn.

"They won't know it's a – summoning you said? When the hell did you attend a _summoning? _Don't answer that, it's not important right now, we'll talk later. The point is not every run of the mill Shadow Hunter is used to the horrendous stench that is this summoning spell. So they don't realize what's going on."

"But we do, and we have to stop them," Clary said. Before either boy could fully react, Clary was darting through the thicket and sprinting through the open grass beyond it. Jace cursed creatively and shot after her, leaving Alec to stand alone in the thick bushes. For a split second, Alec hesitated as he watched the golden hair whip around in the air as his brother sprinted. But then there was movement beyond the doors of the old farmhouse and within seconds, the doors had been blasted open by an unseen force.

Alec watched as the leading Shadowhunters were thrown back from the blast. A large, dark creature stood in the doorway, its black body shining midnight in the pale moonlight. It looked like a Ravenger, but larger, more vicious looking than any he had come across. Its stinger was massive, as sharp as any knife forged by the Iron Sisters, and twice as deadly looking.

Alec found himself drawing his bow without thinking, arrow notched and ready to fly. He knew it would take more than one to bring down such a large creature but one well aimed hit could very well send it scurrying back into the house. But he hesitated; another figure, much smaller than the first stood beside the great beast of a demon. A dark haired, dark skinned woman – an Eidolon, most likely. It wasn't her, however, that made Alec's bow lower, but the small shape in her arms. A child, he could tell from the dangling feet, although the face and torso of the young one were covered by a dark overcoat.

His fingers slipped as his breath escaped. He was no longer standing at the edge of a copse, in a line of overgrown bushes, but in the hallway leading to his own apartment. Magnus stood before him, not the woman, and he was shielding two small forms. The twins, Alec realized as one shyly peered from between Magnus's legs. The twins, not as they were, but as they will be, at four years of age. Magnus was pushing them inside, shielding them from seeing into the hallway, and Alec felt his heart lurch. Instead of the normal smile – mixed with honest love and petty mischievousness – Magnus's face was guarded, cold. Afraid, Alec realized.

He wasn't alone, anymore, with only Magnus at the end of the hallway, but surrounded by other shadowhunters, his brethren. There was murmuring – angry, vicious murmuring, the very same that had permeated the walls of the Institute, and Alec realized what must have happened. They had been found, caught out by his kin, and now they had been sent here to terminate the problem. That was why Magnus looked at him in barely concealed terror, why he hid the twins behind him. He thought Alec was going to kil-

A scream ripped through the air and his thoughts and his eyes barely took in the sight before him. The larger creature had attacked someone, indiscernible in the darkness but for the feminine scream and the shock of vibrant hair. Clary.

Alec's heart lurched, he lifted his arms again, no hesitation. The taunt string twanged as the arrow flew straight across the darkened sky. The animalistic scream that tore through the air made certain that he had made his mark but his eyes were no longer on the large creature, but the woman. She was smiling now, as if the roaring was the music to her favorite band, but that wasn't the odd part. She was staring straight at Alec as she smiled, small child held firmly. He notched another arrow. Her smile deepened. He pulled his arm back. For a split second, her eyes flashed red. Then she was gone, along with the bloodied creature. Alec's arrow slammed into the wall behind her.

The shouts took a few more moments to reach him. His body was numb, shocked. The she-demon and her monstrous counterpart had escaped, along with the hybrid child, and Clary –

He was running then, over the lawn, towards the crumpled form. Jace was already there, cradling her head in his lap, strangely silent amongst the shouts of the others. Her form was unmoving, and for a split second, Alec feared the worst. But her chest rose, slowly, barely, but it was constant at the very least. A large gash ran down her arm and Alec could see where the poison had already seeped into her skin, shading the veins along her hand a deep, ugly purple.

"Poison," Alec whispered, dropping to his knees beside her brother. All the anger had drained in light of the attack and a cold fear had settled into Alec. If Clary died tonight, and the last words he had said had been out of an anger that didn't even involve her, he did not know what he would do.

"Yeah," Jace said, voice hollow. He wasn't looking at Alec, his long tanned fingers traced along Clary's fair cheeks, where the poison had not yet reached. "I wouldn't ask this Alec," he spoke, voice faltering as his hand finally made rest cupping Clary's cheek, "if it wasn't important. But she will _die," _Jace looked up then, tawny eyes intensified with the shock of emotions, "We need Magnus. He's the only one that can save her, and _iratze_ won't work and that demon wasn't like anything I've seen before. Only Magnus can help her, Alec." Jace's voice was pleading, and Alec found himself nodding despite himself.

"I know. I'll send a message, he can get –" he lowered his voice, catching slightly only the words, "_them _out. Tell everyone we are sending her there." Alec turned without another word, registering that his brother was shouting but not catching the words. Blood thudded in his ears as he walked away. He had known it would happen; he had been there to help create the hidden doorway after all, but he had never thought it would happen so quickly.

By the time he had sent the message, alone in the darkened, scarse grove, tears were falling silently. Not for Clary, lying as still as death in his brother's arms, but because he knew when he got home, his family would be broken.

Hey, sorry for the wait, I leave for college tomorrow and the last couple weeks have been really hectic. Hopefully it will get a little better after I'm settled in. Once again, a very large thanks to A Really Gay Spider for betaing. I hope you liked and I will try to update again as soon as possible!


	5. Chapter 5

Clary felt like she was floating. On what, she couldn't say. All she could feel was softness beneath her, carrying her and lulling her back to a lethargic state. She could feel her mind swimming in and out of consciousness and made no attempt to stay at either. She was comfortable in the midst of what ever it was she was in and had no desire to leave it. She was content to just float on the strange softness…

But something was nagging at the back of her mind, forcing her to remain in the consciousness of her mind. Something had happened, but she couldn't remember what. She remembered running through a place, dodging thin needle like objects – were they branches? Had she been in a forest? Possibly but she certainly wasn't in one now, the softness she lay on – because she realized now that she wasn't floating but laying on something distinctly solid – was not something one found in the wilderness. So whatever she was running from, had it caught her?

No. She remembered another place, a clearing from the trees. With a house, an old decrepit house. Something had been there, something that wasn't supposed to be there. She had felt angry and scared. And then came the pain. Shearing pain that originated in her upper arm and almost instantaneously erupted into the rest of her body as if it she were on fire from the inside, quickly burning, burning…

Clary woke with a gasp, sitting up so quickly her head swam. A thin blanket fell off her chest, and it only took a moment to recognize the softness beneath her. She was sitting on a comfortable, wide bed, in a room painted a soft, creamy yellow. She didn't recognize it and for a moment she panicked, brain kicking into overdrive.

She threw the blanket the rest of the way off of her and made to get out of the bed frantically. She needed to know where she was and who she was with but before she could leave the bed, strong arms pushed back onto it, in a laying position. Terrified at the unknown entity, she struggled viciously, kicking and scratching at the figure.

"Ow! Dammit Clary, knock it off!" Clary froze. She knew that voice, had known it for years. She forced herself to relax and actually look at the man who was holding her down. Dark brown hair, mussed slightly, large brown eyes, light skin. Several large scratches marred his cheek although they were already fading to pink before her eyes.

"Simon? Wha – where, where am I?" Clary settled back onto the bed reluctantly, still weary at being in an unknown place.

"Magnus and Alec's place. Don't ask me where the paint job came from, I don't have a clue, but it's one of the spare rooms. After you got hurt, Jace and Alec brought you here. We didn't know when or if you would wake up, Magnus didn't know if he got the poison out in time, you know? Anyway, Jace, Alec, and Isabelle are at some sort of Clave meeting. They've been having them all week, since the demon hybrid escaped." Clary winced at the thought of the child. She remembered seeing it now, cradled against the demon as if it were truly a mother and child and not two disgusting abominations. She hated that it had gotten away and worse, that it was quite possibly her fault.

"And I don't know where Magnus went," Simon continued, pulling Clary out of her thoughts. "He hasn't been around much since he took the poison out of you and said we all had to wait, so it was just me on body patrol. Guess it's just luck that I get to be the one you gouge, huh?"

"_Body patrol?" _Clary asked incredulously, not knowing if she should laugh or kick him. She was relieved to find herself in a familiar place at all, though the Angel knew why Magnus decided to go for a complete room redecorating while she was unconscious. Still, being referred to as _body patrol _tended to hit a sore spot no matter what.

Simon had the decency to look sheepish. "Well, like I said, Magnus didn't know if you were coming back. You were hit with some pretty nasty stuff, by the time Jace and Alec got you here your heart had almost stopped and you weren't breathing. You've been out without even a twitch of a pinky for a week. It was pretty terrifying, really. Even Magnus was pretty off the wall about it. Kept pacing all around like crazy. And I'd be damned if Alec didn't look near tears for at least some of it. Jace wasn't even his usual jackass self. You know how shaken up he has to be if he doesn't even have an asinine comment saved up. Isabelle was pretty beat up too. Almost as bad as when Max died. Your mom's been on a rampage but that's to be expected. She'd be here, but the Clave seems to have adopted her as some sort of connoisseur of demon-hybrid babies. All in all, it's been a rough week."

Clary sat quietly for several minutes, letting it all sink in. She couldn't believe she'd been out that long or that she'd almost been killed, again. Nor could she believe how torn up everyone seemed to be about it – Jace and her mother she could understand, and she knew Magnus was rather soft at heart, and she had heard about some of what Isabelle's father had said to her, but Alec surprised her. Their relationship wasn't as rocky as it had first been, meaning of course that he wasn't constantly glaring at her, but they weren't close – at least not close enough that she thought he would cry because she was unconscious. And he had been acting weird before that too, snapping at her like he had. It had all been very strange.

"Earth to Clary? Calling all Clarys? Clary phone home?" Simon's incessant talking broke her out of her thoughts and she turned back towards him. "Oh, now you notice me?" he huffed jokingly and Clary smiled despite herself. She was glad it was Simon who was here when she woke up. Good old Simon that, no matter what, would always be able to make her crack a smile. "Oh. That's a smile there, you out of whatever hell you were thinking in then? That's good, because I have an idea for some fun."

Clary looked at him suspiciously, slowly sitting up. Now the adrenaline of fear had rushed out of her, she realized she was quite sore in places, a distinctly unpleasant feeling. "Fun?"

"Yeah. I mean, this is the first time we've been alone in Magnus and Alec's apartment isn't? And neither will be back for a while, they never are. Why don't we go poke around, see their skeletons in the closet, huh? It'd be fun. I've always wanted to know what kind of china an immortal kept, you know, for special guests."

Clary snorted. "You are out of your mind, you know that? There is no way in hell I'm going to go poking around Alec and Magnus's stuff. They'd _kill_ me. Plus, the stuff is probably booby trapped a mile high. There is no way in hell I'm going to explain some random defect to everyone because you needed to satisfy your curiosity. Uh-uh."

"Don't be like that. Come on, just one room. Just the living room. Poke around in the drawers and stuff. Harmless really, what's the worst that could happen?"

Clary bit her lip, contemplating. She was _curious _as to what type of magical artifacts Magnus might keep in his living room cabinets. "Fine, what's the worst, right?" Simon grinned and helped her gently off the bed. Clary winced at the soreness of her body but managed on her feet alright, taking small steps with Simon's arm around her waist until they'd made it to the living room.

"You sit here," Simon helped her into a brightly colored chair, "and I'll bring you anything interesting. But you got to stay here, I told Magnus if you woke I wouldn't let you move too much."Clary rolled her eyes but didn't protest.

She watched quietly as Simon shuffled through the drawers lined against the wall for several moments before boredom took over and she started looking around the room. It was the same bright slapdash of colors she remembered, and yet it seemed different. Clary couldn't place it but it just felt different than it had before. The whole house did, really.

Clary stared at the couch as she thought, listening to the quiet shuffling beside her, when something small and bright caught her eye under the couch. Glancing at Simon, she stood up quietly and slowly, sorely made her way to the couch. Bending down, she reached one pale hand under the couch and grasped the surprisingly soft thing.

She pulled it out and held it up, shocked. Why would Alec and Magnus have this in their apartment? "Hey Simon?" She kept her eye on the strange object as Simon grumbled about women not listening and walked over. "Is this the kind of thing you're looking for?" She asked handing the offensive object towards him. Simon's eyes widened. "Why the hell do Alec and Magnus have a stuffed lion?" Clary asked, not really expecting an answer.

"No idea. We should put it back though," Simon answered. Clary looked up, surprised at his suddenly abrasive demeanor. Simon's face was masked, a look of carefully crafted indifference he must have learned from the Shadow Hunters. He had never been able to hide much before. Still, he was Clary's best friend and she could tell when he knew something.

"Why the hurry? Don't you want to find out why Magnus and Alec have a baby's toy?" She asked, sliding the small lion away from her friend.

"Not really. Their business you know? Let's just put it back and get you back to bed. I brought a couple of the new volumes of the manga you like." Simon made to grab the toy but Clary held it close. To grab it from her would most likely hurt her, and she knew Simon wouldn't risk something like that. She glared.

"What's up Simon? You're acting weird now. Do you know why they'd have something like this? Because unless Alec has a secret plush collection, the only reason a couple has toys like this is if they have a child, and that's impossible."

"I really don't want to know that Alec has a secret plush collection. A teenage boy would kill to keep something like that hidden, and I'd rather not get killed for Stuffy the Cowardly lion over there." Simon had returned to his normal, sarcastic demeanor and Clary was halfway convinced when the door opened and they both froze.

"Hello? Any bloodsuckers in here? Simon?" Magnus's voice rang out, surprisingly cheerful. Simon hastened for the lion but it was too late, Magnus was in the room before he could hide it under the couch again.

For a moment, Magnus didn't see the lion, surprised as he was to see Clary up and about but the moment Simon made to stash it, his eyes flashed towards him. For a moment, Magnus was still, eyes wide and Clary was surprised to see the hint of fear that crossed his face. It was gone in an instant though, replaced with a face erased of all emotions.

"Where did you get that?" He asked, voice deceivingly calm. Clary and Simon looked towards each other, each debating what to do.

"It was under the couch, in clear sight. Anyone could have found it," Clary said finally. "And besides, I think there's another question to be answered here," she continued, feeling braver than she actually was. Magnus had rarely ever scared her before but she could freely admit how terrifying he could be, towering over her as he did. Especially when he was looking at her like that.

"Oh?" he replied, arching a single brow, "What exactly is more pressing than to find out what you two _children_ are doing, looking through my apartment?"

Clary steeled herself, feeling Simon tense beside her, one hand pressing on her shoulder, warning her to stop. "Why do you and Alec have something for a baby in your apartment?"

* * *

Hey, so I'm starting college classes tomorrow (kind of scary) but I'm going to try and update more frequently then I have been. Anyway, I really hoped you liked the chapter (it kind of sets the ball rolling for the rest of the story) and once again a great big thank you for A Really Gay Spider for helping so much with the betaing and ideas. Thank you for reading and I'll try to update again soon.


	6. Chapter 6

Magnus watched both teenagers with seemingly unfazed eyes. Inside, his emotions and thoughts swarm around in chaos, screaming obscenities that not even Alec would have used. How could he have been so careless when he had banished everything? But he couldn't berate himself now. He couldn't show any emotions beyond irritation at this point; too much more than that would give himself away. "I babysat for a dear friend. She must have left the toy here when she picked up the tiny little demon. Why does it even matter?" He held one disdainful eyebrow up, praying silently that the two in front of him would buy it.

Clary had the decency to look slightly shame-faced, her wild curls spilling to cover her face as she lowered her gaze slightly, blushing. Simon was a different matter; his lips were pulled downward in the slightest of frowns and his dark eyes were thoughtful. Magnus could his sworn his nose had twitched slightly, as if he was sniffing the room in an obtrusive way. Magnus would have to deal with that later, Clary, a direct link to the Clave, was a more dangerous aspect.

"Now, you nearly died last week, Clarissa. Get back into bed." Magnus guided a slightly protesting, still slightly red-faced Clary back into the guest bedroom. He knew Simon was following closely behind but was still bent on ignoring him for now. Simon would, Magnus was sure, have a clearer head about the situation while Clary would be more likely to be rash, which he obviously did not need.

"Magnus, I feel better," Clary tried in vain as Magnus non to gently pushed back onto the bed. Magnus merely raised an eyebrow as he pulled the thick blankets back onto her.

"I can and will make you sleep if I have to Clary. No arguments." Clary made to open her mouth once more but Magnus merely held up a single finger. Clary closed her mouth, knowing full well that Magnus would make good on his threat, and settled herself in for the forced rest. Magnus smiled slightly, hoping it was convincing, before leaving the room.

Simon followed, as Magnus knew he would, and closed the door slightly, letting it stay open just a gap, incase Clary began to get up or needed something. He opened his mouth to say something but Magnus gestured for him to keep quiet. He was willing to tell Simon part of the story, depending on how much the vampire had guessed or knew, but he would wait until the rustling had quieted. It would not do to have Clary hear the conversation from her room.

They bade the time in silence, an awkward and uncommon thing for Magnus, who had grown accustomed to the little sounds the twins had brought into the house. Still, Magnus could not bring himself to turn the television on or the radio. He could not even bring himself to move from the spot, worried that if he did, Simon would find some other piece of incrimination amongst the furniture.

Finally, once thirty minutes had passed and there were no more rustlings from Clary's room, Simon spoke. "Why'd you lie?" Subtly never was his strong suit, Magnus reflected silently as he finally moved from his spot, hoping to draw Simon further from Clary's door.

"What do you mean?" he replied casually. It was a common game, amongst humans, or near humans, as it would be more apt to say, to bait the other into revealing his hand. His knowledge. Magnus was good at this game; one couldn't live centuries in relative safety, without being adept at the game.

"There weren't any strangers in this house. Not recently anyway. The smells here, they are a mixture of you and Alec, with some faded scents, days old. Even if your 'friend' hadn't noticed the missing toy by now, her kid would have. Why would you lie about babysitting?" Simon stared intently at Magnus, obviously hoping to draw some sort of answer. But Magnus had played this game a thousand times; he knew every curve, every back road, and every alleyway.

"I haven't allowed anyone into the house since Clary was placed here. The Clave told me little about the attack, what type of creatures, excluding the demon of course, that were there and who they thought was involved. And Alec's hardly been home to tell me himself, so I've had little to go on about what Downworlders might be a threat. Not to mention some Downworlders have certain auras that simply clash with a healing environment." Magnus made sure to add just the right amount of disdain for the Clave, and irritation at Alec to be believable. Simon was quiet for a minute.

"It's funny you know," he began again, moving now, also further from Clary's door, his voice dropping low. Magnus, surprised by the change, kept quiet, eyes staring warily at Simon. "Alec's been different since he came home. Not just his attitude," he added as Magnus opened his mouth, "his scent's different too. At first I couldn't place it. It was him, but different. He used to smell like Jace, but less obvious. Now however, it's closer to his mother's or Clary's mother's even. They all seemed to share a common element that wasn't present in any of the guy's or even Clary or Isabelle. It was confusing, until, at least, I saw a woman in the park with a young baby. The appearance was nothing special, but the smell. That hit me. She also had that same element Alec's produces. Which, you know, confused me still until this moment."

Magnus simply raised an eyebrow, daring Simon to continue. He had to admit, he was impressed. It usually took a far more seasoned vampire to tell the subtle differences between someone who had bared a child and someone who had not. Still, he would not admit to the twins until he was absolutely sure Simon knew enough that he could not be swayed a different way.

"Alec was gone for a strangely specific amount of time. About six months? And he'd been acting strangely for the few he'd been here before that. Isabelle told me about the sickness. How she'd found him vomiting one morning. Weird, considering how rare it is for a Shadow Hunter to get the flu, especially at Alec's age and health."

"Where are you going with this? Magnus interrupted smoothly, his voice soft. He wanted Simon to get to the point. It was obvious he knew, if not the whole thing, far too much for Magnus to just not tell him. He wanted this over quickly.

"He was pregnant." Simon stated calmly, as it was not the most absurd statement in the world. "The baby toy seals it. He was pregnant, and now you two have some unheard of warlock-shadow hunter hybrid that's obviously never been seen before and are keeping silent because you are worried that Clave is going to hunt him or her down like some monster."

Magnus stared for several moments. He would never again poke fun at the intelligence of the vampire before him. It was quite obvious that Simon was more observant and clever than any one of them had ever given him credit to be. Finally he spoke. "They can't find out Simon. The clave will hunt them down like they are Sebastian. They won't see the difference. Clary can't know either. She's more blind them the rest of them, her hatred more severe. If they knew they existed, especially that there are two, they'll be killed. Most likely along with me and maybe even with Alec. That can't happen –"

Magnus was interrupted by a loud slam from behind him. His heart fell when he realized where it had come from. With hardly a pause, he crossed the living room and slammed the door to the guest room open, cursing himself for not closing it all the way and looked in. He didn't know quite when his heart stopped. It was somewhere between the empty bed and the wide open window. It didn't really matter.

He had just let slip the biggest secret of his life to the very person he was trying to hide it from. He had just signed the death warrant to his own children.

* * *

I'm so sorry! College has made everything hectic, and I've fallen behind on writing these! I just want you all to know (who ever is still reading this anyway) that I'm planning on absolutely finishing it, even if posts take a long time! I hope you enjoyed this, thank you for reading, and I will try to update again as soon as possible!


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